Cotton condenser



Feb. 13, 1934. T. ELLIOTT 1,946,784

COTTON CONDENS ER Filed May 9, 1950 :NVEN TOFZ Thomas E 1M0 it m k 7WITNESS a 0 Patented Feb. 13, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1,946,784ooTToN CONDENSER Delaware Application May 9, 1930. Serial No. 451,127 4Claims. (01. 19-156) My invention relates to cotton condensers of thesingle drum type in which the lint bearing air current from the gins hasthe lint collected therefrom and delivered by suitable dofilng rolls inbat form to the tramper mechanism or other point of use.

It has long been recognized in this art that the operation of the ginsin respect of the loss of cotton with the hulls and also in respect oftheir moting operation, would be materially im proved ii the condenserdrum could be kept clear of cotton so that the discharge of the lintbearing air current from the condenser would not be restricted and thusthe condenser would not create or build up any back pressure on thegins.

The chief object of my present invention is to so design the condensercasing and to so relate it to the lint flue that the condenser drumwillhave practically its whole foraminous surface exposed and maintained atall times substantially free and clear of cotton, whereby the maximumoutflow of air through the open end of the drum is maintained and thepossibility of creating any back pressure on the gins is avoided. Tothis end my invention contemplates making the condenser casing elongatedand of expanding cross sectional area so that it will act to reduce therate of flow of the lint bearing air current entering from the lint flueand permit the cotton to be more easily and effectively removedtherefrom.

Another feature of my invention is to provide the condenser casing witha bottom wall inclined at a relatively small angle to the line of theinflowing air current from the lint flue and rising sufliciently tocause practically all of the lint borne by the entering air, to impingeagainst and be collected on this wall and to be driven up along it andover a curved condenser wall to the point of discharge. The cotton massis held against the condenser wall so as to leave the screen drumsubstantially free and clear throughout of lint.

Another distinctive feature of my invention consists in so disposing androtating the screen drum that its surface toward the lint flue will bedisposed above the line of travel of the entering air current and willmove downwardly, as by this means any lint tending to collect on thedrum will do so only on its downgoing under side and thus will have onlya relatively short travel until it falls off or is removed by thedoiflng rolls.

A further distinctive feature of my invention consists in maintaining anample clearance about the entire peripheral surface of the drum exceptopposite the doffing rolls, thereby giving the air current full and freeaccess to practically the whole screen drum surface.

A further feature or" my invention consists in arranging the dofflngrolls above the center line of the drum and on the side thereof remotefrom the lint flue, this arrangement bringing the major portion of thecondenser below the point of discharge of the bat and reducing theoverhead clearance required for the apparatus, which is often veryimportant.

In its preferred embodiment, the condenser casing is expandedsubstantially symmetrically from its inlet end, where it connects withthe lint flue, to its curved or arcuate portions surrounding the drum inspaced relation thereto, and preferably the dofling point is in acentral plane through the casing which is upwardly inclined to bring thedrum Well above the path 76. taken by the cotton entering on the aircurrent.

My invention further comprises the novel details of construction andarrangements of parts, which in their preferred embodiment only areillustrated in the accompanying drawing which forms a part of thisspecification, and in Which:-

Fig. 1 shows my improved condenser in vertical longitudinal crosssectional View through the casing and drum with the lint flue and aportion or" one of the gin flues broken away.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line IIII of Fig. 1.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout thedrawing.

While I have shown my invention as applied to a battery of gins, it willbe understood that it may beused with one or more gins and with anysuitable type of lint flue. As shown, 1 indicates the main lint flue and2 one of the several flues, each leading from a gin connection 3 anddelivering a lint bearing air current induced in the gin, into the lintflue 1.

The lint bearing air current flowing through the lint flue i enters thecasing of the condenser which comprises a flat inclined bottom wall 4,side walls 5, a top wall 6, and the end arcuate or curved wall sections7 and 8 which surround the screen drum 9. The walls 4 and 6 diverge toprovide a symmetrical casing of gradually increasing cross sectionalarea as it approaches the drum 9 and the wall i leads upwardly on agradual slope from the bottom level of the flue 1 to a point above theplane of the upper level of the flue 1 and thereafter it mergestangentially into the lower curved section 7. 119

The angle of the bottom wall 4 to the axis of the lint flue l isimportant in that it should be small enough to insure that the majorportion of the cotton, entering from the lint flue, will collect on thisWall 4 and be driven up along its surface onto the wall 7 against whichit will be held by centrifugal force so as to keep it away from the drumuntil it reaches the dolnng rolls 10 and 11 which coact with the drum 9to collect the lint in the form of a bat 12 and deliver it to the lintslide 13 of the tramper mechanism, not shown.

If the wall 4 rises too abruptly it will act as a bafile to create eddycurrents and throw the lint all through the upper part of the casing,whereas I desire that as nearly as possible all lint shall collect andslide up on the wall 4 and no appreciable amount shall pass to the levelof the drum to collect thereon.

The rolls 10 and 11 are interposed between the curved walls '7 and 8.The drum is mounted on a drive shaft 14 having bearings 15 and anysuitable drive mechanism, not shown, adapted to rotate the drum in acounter-clockwise direction,

Fig. l. The air currents passing out of the condenser through theforaminous peripheral wall of the drum 9 will escape from the open endof the drum through an outlet 16 in a side wall 5 of the casing.

It will be noted that the clotting rolls are disposed above the centerline of the drum and substantially in line with a central plane throughthe casing and drum. This arrangement is preferred but not essential. Itwill also be noted that the curved wall sections '7 and 8 are suitablyspaced from the drum, affording free access of the air currents topractically the whole surface of the drum.

In operation, the air current bearing lint is discharged in thedirection of the arrows shown from the lint flue 1 into the casing andthe expanding area of the latter slows up the speed of the air currentand permits the ready deposit of the lint on the gradually rising bottominclined wall 4. The lint as driven along by the air blast slides upthis drum wall 4 and strikes the curved wall 7 at a tangent, slidingaround this wall until it practically reaches the doling roll 10. Thewall 4 will not disturb the air currents causing the cotton to be driventhrough the casing but will insure that practically all of the cottoncollects as indicated along the walls 4 and '7. Any floating lint orfiber that may pass up with the air current as it flows around andthrough the drum will not deposit sufficient lint on the drum tointerfere with the free discharge of air therethrough and such smallamount as collects on the drum will practically all be below the centralplane of the drum head and will thus have short travel until it fallsoff or is removed by the dofiing rolls.

In my condenser I thus maintain the drum practically clear and free ofcotton and by discharging the cotton high up near the top of thecondenser the major portion of the condenser can be dropped below theupper end of the tramper lint slide. This reduces the head room requiredfor the condenser and its cost of construction.

Though I have described with great particularity the details of theembodiment of the invention herein shown, it is not to be construed thatI am limited thereto, as changes in arrangement of substitution ofequivalents may be made by those skilled in the art without departingfrom the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a condenser for lint cotton, a condenser casing having an inletfor air borne cotton, an air outlet and top and bottom upwardly inclinedwalls that flare apart from said inlet and merge into a curved end wall,a foraminous drum rotatably mounted above the level of the inlet and inspaced relation to said curved wall, with its downgoing side toward saidinlet, and rolls to discharge the lint in a bat.

2. In a condenser for lint cotton, a condenser casing having an endinlet for air borne cotton and a side air outlet, top and bottomupwardly inclined walls that flare apart from said inlet and merge intoa curved end wall, a foraminous drum rotatably mounted above the levelof the inlet and in spaced relation to said curved wall, and dofiingrolls in the curved end wall to discharge the lint in a bat.

3. In a condenser for lint cotton, a casing having an end inlet for airborne cotton, top and bottom walls upwardly inclined and diverging fromthe inlet, a curved end wall merging into the top and bottom walls, arotary foraminous drum horizontally disposed within the casing andspaced substantially from the top and bottom walls and end wallpermitting free access of air entirely around the drum, dofiing means inthe curved end wall, and air outlet means in the casing communicatingwith the end of the drum.

4. In a condenser for lint cotton, a casing having an end inlet for airborne cotton, top and bottom walls inclined upwardly from the inlet, acurved end wall merging with the top and bottom walls, a foraminous drumhorizontally disposed within the casing and spaced substantially fromthe top and bottom and end walls to permit free access of air entirelyaround the drum, means to rotate the drum in a direction whereby itsside toward the inlet is moving in a downward direction, side walls forthe casing closely spaced with respect to the drum, doffing means in thecurved end wall, and air outlet means in the side of the casingcommunicating with the end of the drum.

THOMAS ELLIOTT.

